Electrical feedthroughs provide an electrically conductive path extending from the interior of a sealed enclosure or housing to a point outside the enclosure. The conductive path through the feedthrough includes a conductor pin, wire or other conductive member or material, which is electrically insulated from the container if the container is formed from a conductive material. For example, a conductive feedthrough in an implantable medical device (IMD) provides an electrically conductive path from a connection point to electronic circuitry contained within the IMD enclosure or housing to a point outside the enclosure. The feedthrough member is sealed to the enclosure to prevent the ingress of blood or other body fluids which could damage IMD internal circuitry and cause device malfunction or failure. The junction between the enclosure and the conductive member of the feedthrough can be vulnerable to leakage into the IMD enclosure when it is implanted and exposed to body fluids.
An ongoing design goal of IMDs is overall size reduction to promote patient comfort and facilitate less invasive or minimally invasive implantation procedures. As the size is reduced, selection of feedthrough components becomes limited due to small size requirements, and manufacturability of hermetic feedthroughs becomes more challenging. Other devices, such as micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) devices, sensors or other miniaturized devices that operate in fluid conditions may require hermetic electrical feedthroughs. Accordingly, a need remains for an improved hermetic feedthrough and associated method of manufacturing.